The Land Registry have recently released their latest set of
figures for the NW Leeds Property market. It makes for an interesting read, as
average property values in Burley rose by 0.1% last month. This leaves average
property values 3.5% higher than 12 months ago, meaning the annual rate of
growth in the area fell to its lowest level since May 2014. When we compare Burley
against the regional picture, Yorkshire property values fell by 0.6%, leaving
them 1.1% higher than a year ago.
Obviously this is a far cry from the price rises we were
experiencing in Burley throughout 2014. At one point (October 2014 to be exact)
property values were rising by 7.6% a year. All the same, even with the
tempering of the Burley property values in 2015, property values are still
higher. This is good news for local homeowners who had been affected by the
downturn after 2007 and still find themselves in negative equity.
However, the thing that concerns me is that the average number
of properties changing hands (i.e. selling) has dropped
substantially over the last 12 months in the area. In September 2014, 45
properties sold in Burley but in September 2015, that figure dropped to 31. I have been in the Burley property market for
quite a while now and the one thing I have noticed over the last few years has
been the subtle change in the traditional seasonality of the Burley property market.
It has been particularly noticeable this year in that the normal post Easter
flood of properties coming onto the market was not seen. This has made an imbalance
between supply and demand, with less houses coming onto the market there is simply
not as much choice of properties to buy in Burley and with the population of Burley
ever increasing; this will generally strengthen house price growth for the
foreseeable future.
So what does all this mean for Burley landlords or those
considering dipping their toe into the buy to let market for the first time? For many people, buy to let looks a good investment,
providing landlords with a decent income at a time of low interest rates and
stock market unpredictability.
However, if you are thinking
of investing in bricks and mortar in Burley, it is important to do things correctly.
As an investment to provide you with income, for those with enough savings to
raise a big deposit, buy to let looks particularly good, especially compared to
low savings rates and stock market yo-yo’s. I must also remind readers,
landlords have two opportunities to make money from property, not only is there
the rent (income), but with the property market bouncing back over the last few
years, property value increases has spurred on more investors to buy property
in the hope of its value continuing to rise.
Savvy landlords with decent deposits can fix their mortgages
at just over 3% for five years, making many deals stack up. Nevertheless, low
rates cannot stay low forever, because one day they must rise and you need to
know your property can stand that test. I saw some Burley landlords struggling
in the mid noughties, when interest rates rose from 3.5% in July 2003 to 5.75%
in July 2007. That might not sound a lot, but that was the difference of making
a £100 a month profit in 2003 to having to make up a shortfall in the mortgage
payments of £100 per month in 2007.
Its true many landlords were thrown a life raft when the
base rate dropped to 0.5% in March 2009. Whilst interest rates have remained
there since, mark my words, they will rise again in the future.
However, even with
the potential for costs to rise, demand for decent rental properties remains
high as there are ever more tenants in the market, driving up demand and thus
rents. The British love of bricks and mortar plus improving mortgage deals also
add up to fuel the buoyant Burley property market.
If you are planning on investing in the Burley property
market, or just want to know more, things to consider for a successful buy to let
investment, one source of information is the Burley Property Blog http://headingleyburleyproperty.blogspot.co.uk/
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